The Borghese-Windsor Cabinet

This piece of furniture is a specific kind of display cabinet called 'stipo' or 'studiolo' in Italian. Made in Rome, it belonged to Pope Paul V Borghese (ruled 1605-21), whose coat of arms (the eagle and the dragon) is featured above the central niche. Already in an English private collection by 1821 when it was offered for sale with its stand in London, the cabinet was then acquired by King George IV (ruled 1820-30). It remained in the British Royal Collection until 1959, when it was sold with the collection of Queen Mary. Such showpiece cabinets–brilliantly colored in their use of precious materials, but also intriguing with their multiple drawers–were the most prestigious display furniture in Europe from the late sixteenth to early eighteenth century.